The Digital Handshake - Interview with Paul Chaney (Part 2)

This is the second of a four part interview with Paul Chaney, author of The Digital Handshake which officially launched on September 22. The following two questions were contributed by Debra Marrs and Laurie Sheppard when I put out a call for reader questions.

1. [Submitted by Debra Marrs] I've noticed myself "tuning out" the barrage of messages, especially email blasts...I see people overexposing their target audiences (including current clients) with just too much stuff. Given the overexposure and information overload, what are your suggestions for a percentage mix of content, conversation, and other strategies for keeping your followers interested in your messages?

I wish I had a good answer for that. I think I tend to be one who “overexposes” my community to my messages. If I were to formulate a strategy, it would look something like this:

a.   Tweet four to six times per day using a mix of conversation, links to resources and broadcast messages.

b.   Blog 3-5 times per week if possible with a decided emphasis on keyword-optimized, topically-relevant content. That’s good for search engines and good for people too. If you can’t maintain that posting schedule, then once per week for sure.

c.    Tweet your posts, but make sure that those are only part of your overall tweeting habit. Make your tweets a mix of your content and others as well.

d.   For those things that don’t fit Twitter or your blog, use Posterous or Tumblr to be more of an ad hoc source. Or, if you’re focused on more than one topic, start a separate blog. The likelihood is you’ll build separate communities around each.

e.   Listen to your followers. If you see your follower count diminish, you’ll know that your signal-to-noise ratio needs adjusting.

2. [Submitted by Laurie Sheppard] This question is coming up a lot...I still am confused as to how these regular online interactions are supposed to translate to business. Whether it's daily individual communication via my blog or weekly or monthly with newsletters and articles, new products, etc. What are the most effective online strategies for generating client leads for solopreneurs in small companies?

That depends on the media you’re using. If it’s a blog, for example, while you don’t want to put advertorial content where editorial is supposed to go, you can use the sidebar to drive conversions. Put a subscribe form to your newsletter, make a special offer (ebook, whitepaper, webinar, free gift, etc) and use a short form to collect names and email addresses.

Let’s say it’s Twitter you’re developing a business case around. I think you should focus on providing content the community you’re attempting to gather around you (or that you’re attempting to penetrate and participate in) would appreciate and find valuable.

One good way to do this is by answering questions they have. Use Twitter search as a listening post and seize the opportunity to respond to someone’s question or concern.

Not only that, don’t follow others indiscriminately, but purposefully. Who is it you need to get in front of? Follow those people.

Finally, I think there is great value to just being there, being present. Be an active participant and take advantage of opportunities as they present themselves.

One thing you need to understand is that social media is a different form of marketing than leading generation. It’s information sharing marketing. It’s the long road, but I think it’s also the high road. It’s building trust and that takes time. But, the lesson we learn from the tortoise and the hare is “slow and steady wins the race.”

Use this form of marketing in concert with others. Don’t forsake the use of email, search or content marketing. Let there be synergy between all of them. For example, blog posts can easily be turned into your monthly email newsletter. And, you can always tweet those posts...Facebook them as well.

I know a number of Realtors who use Facebook and Twitter every day to generate leads, referrals and get listings. They do it by just being there, letting people know what’s going on. Never (or rarely) do they “pitch” either. They build relationships and let those develop into business over time. 

Tomorrow: how to connect with your audience and niche social networking sites.

The Digital Handshake - Interview with Paul Chaney (Part 1)

Read Paul Chaney's blog The Social Media Handyman, join The Digital Handshake Fan page, and follow Paul on twitter.

Comments

[Debra Marrs]

Thank you for responding to my question, Paul. The content you've provided during this interview with Denise continues to resonate and guide me many months later.

Thank you, Denise, for connecting us with Paul. You are and have always been my #1 go-to-resource for social media interaction how-to's. Thanks!

Debra